Adolf's catfish

Adolfo's cory, Corydoras adolfoi, is a peaceful schooling catfish from the blackwater tributaries of the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. Reaching around 5.5 to 6 cm, these corydoras have a cream body with a bold black stripe running through the eye and across the top of the head, a second dark band at the front of the dorsal fin, and a bright orange-red patch on the nape. They are obligate group animals and should be kept in a shoal of at least six, where they will display their full natural behaviour, constantly sifting the substrate for food with their delicate barbels.

Use fine sand or smooth, rounded gravel kept very clean. Decorate with driftwood, beech or almond leaf litter, and shaded planting; leaf litter also fosters the microbe colonies that fry and juveniles graze on. Like all corydoras they are facultative air-breathers, so a gap must be left between the water surface and the coverslides. Water should be clean, well-filtered but with gentle flow, and very soft to moderately hard. These fish are highly sensitive to salt, medications, and sudden parameter swings, and do best in a mature aquarium. Like most corydoras they are egg-scatterers and will breed readily after large cool-water changes, depositing adhesive eggs on glass and plant leaves.